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President Barack Obama called Huma Abedin, a top aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, an 'American patriot' at a White House Iftar dinner celebrating the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

His praise came after a group of Republican lawmakers accused her of having ties to the Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamist political organization.

'She has been nothing less than extraordinary in representing our country and the democratic values that we hold dear,' Obama said.

'The American people owe her a debt of gratitude because Huma is an American patriot and an example of what we need in this country - more public servants with her sense of decency, her grace and her generosity of spirit.'

In June, Representative Michele Bachmann along with four other Republican lawmakers questioned Abedin's security clearance in a letter to the State Department's inspector general. They suggested members of her family had connections to the Muslim Brotherhood, which the writers said may be seeking access to high levels of the U.S. government.

'If my family members were associated with Hamas, a terrorist organization, that alone could be sufficient to disqualify me from getting a security clearance,' Bachmann said on conservative host Glenn Beck's talk show.

But senior Republicans in Congress, including House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and former presidential candidate John McCain, have rallied to Abedin's defense in recent weeks.

Abedin, a Muslim, was seated on Obama's right at the dinner and appeared visibly moved as the president spoke to a room full of religious leaders, elected officials and diplomats.

This is a good example of the new definition of patriotism. Michelle Bachmann is right. And we better pay attention to the signs like this meeting honoring Ramadan. No doubt John McCain and John Boehner (who represent the GOP leaderships mindset) were lurking around there somewhere to back The Won if the opportunity presented itself.

One again Barry skips National Day of Prayer for Ramadan. What a douchebag. There is no way that anyone could convince me that he isn't a Muslim.

Of course he would skip the National Day of Prayer. It's too right wing for his image. While Ramadan, as a holiday of an oppressive misogynistic, homophobic, totalitarian world view is of course completely acceptable to the average progressive.

Americans are famous for their diversity, and nowhere is this diversity more on display than in the various ways we celebrate the Fourth of July. Whether you are a traditional infidel enjoying hot dogs and cold watermelon, a recent immigrant infidel celebrating your new citizenship with a colorful piñata full of sweet treats, or like me, a not-as-yet-arrived-there-American who celebrates our independence through videotaped beheadings, we Americans have an almost infinite variety of ways of ‘lighting up the Fourth.’

Unfortunately, there are some who are angered by this rich Independence Day tapestry of watermelon and piñatas and decapitations, and express their anger through intolerance. Ironically, these angry voices have chosen to ignore the message of the Founding Infidels, and have instead lashed out against their fellow Americans, and aspiring-Americans, by openly questioning our patriotism and threatening our civil liberties with their GPS-guided ‘Bunker Busters.’

Sadly, this chorus of intolerance has grown since America embarked on its disastrous campaign of militarism in the Mideast. Instead of focusing on the real issues that trouble us -- like rampant poverty, Zionist aggression, and our immodestly dressed female cousins who have dishonored our clans -- these ‘neocon’ voices have sought to distract us with a stupid war for oil and empire. Those of us who have stood up in principled, armed opposition to Bush’s misadventure have been branded “unpatriotic.”

This chilling wind should alarm the millions of Americans and future-Americans everywhere who have called for the immediate timed withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, and have expressed their opinion through their local newspapers, peace marches, and rocket-propelled grenades. It sometimes seems that the Administration is more interested in the “rights” of their foreign Iraqi clients than the rights of their own citizens, and their own inevitable invading conquerors.
If nothing else, the Fourth of July should prompt all Americans, whether they are an infidel fornicating whore-woman in a Miami strip club or a fresh-faced enlistee in a secret Prague martyr cell, to reflect on the true meaning of ‘patriotism.’ To me, patriotism is not some empty flag-waving gesture, or spouting jingoistic slogans. To me,dissent is the real patriotism. And what could be more patriotic than the ultimate in dissent – bloody jihad against the kufr and their heretic puppets in Baghdad?

So, on this day when we mark the birth of the Great Satan, let us remember that true patriotism is not a “one-size-fits-all” idea. While there may be precious little to celebrate America as it is, millions of us real patriots will continue to celebrate the idea of America as it could be. Allah willing.

If only we could get a republican into the White House with the courage to de-lice the place after these scum buckets are gone (with 1/4 our liberties obliterated). Esp the courts and the bureaucracy.

"THESE are the times that try men's souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country; but he that stands by it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly: it is dearness only that gives every thing its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its goods; and it would be strange indeed if so celestial an article as FREEDOM should not be highly rated."